House System

The House system at St Andrew’s is a vibrant and important part of school life, which reflects the College’s core values.

We have four Houses, which are named after prominent founding members of the College; Thompson, Erwin, Rutherford and MacGibbon.

Each House has a Staff Leader with Student Leaders at both the Middle and Senior School levels.

The system helps students to develop a sense of identity and pride in their House, as they engage in friendly, positive competition against the other three Houses.

It also builds a closer rapport between students and teachers, and helps new staff and students to adapt to the culture of St Andrew’s.

Houses compete against each other in a range of sports and activities throughout the year, including Touch, Swimming, Haka, Athletics, Cross Country, Highland Games, Chess, Debating, Volleyball, Basketball and Singing, to name a few.

Points are awarded at each competition with the Houses competing fiercely for the coveted House Cup, which is awarded at our annual Prizegiving.

History of the House System

The St Andrew’s College House system started in 1925 with the creation of four Houses – two for boarders – Strowan and Rutherford, and two for dayboys, Erwin and Thompson. These were named after the College property (Strowan), the benefactor who enabled the College to purchase it (Mr Duncan Rutherford), the Board’s first Chairman (the Reverend Dr Robert Erwin) and the College ‘founder’ (the Reverend A T Thompson).

In 1982, Rector Dr John Rentoul rearranged the House system, with Strowan withdrawn as a House, Erwin becoming a dayboy House, and the dayboy surplus used to supplement the numbers in the three boarding Houses (Thompson, Rutherford and MacGibbon). From 1983 onwards, Houses have been scored for their successes in a wide range of activities beyond just the Athletics Day and Swimming Sports events. The Houses continue to be distinguished by different coloured T-shirts – Thompson (Green), Erwin (Red), Rutherford (Blue) and Macgibbon (Yellow).